kcat114

I have been thinking of buying a pork shoulder because it's such a great deal and it seems like you can use the leftovers for anything.
It seems like the two popular methods of cooking a pork shoulder are braising or roasting. Braising sounds like the more fool-proof and delicious method to me (it sounds like yummy crummy-weather food).
I'm thinking of braising it with apple cider and root vegetables - sound like a good plan? What's your favorite method of preparing pork shoulders?

Jim's Gem

Indirect heat on the grill for 8 - 12 hours. It will be moist and just fall apart. MMMMmmm Season with your favorite BBQ type seasonings mix in a little BBQ sauce after "pulling" apart and serve on a sandwich. DH prefers a little cole slaw on the sandwich. I like to just eat mine with a fork.

I also occasionally roast it in the oven in one of those oven bags then serve as a roast with gravy.

butterflywing

i cut slits in the meat and fill the slits with slivers of fresh garlic. don't worry. they cook and get sweet. use as much or as little as your taste dictates. then salt and pepper to taste.

then i lay mucho strips of bacon over the top so that it self bastes. you must watch the bacon. it gets crisp much sooner than the roast gets done. i pull off the bacon at that point and replace it with new. i don't like to have to keep basting. i place cut up potatoes, carrots, parsnips and onions in the roasting pan with the roast. the roasting time depends on the size of the shoulder. follow the weight/time instructions. if there are no instructions, look in any cookbook or google it.

take the cooked bacon and crumble it into bits for a salad for that meal or the next day. the bacon bits are also nice to sprinkle on green beans. if you want to use the bits for another meal, make mac and cheese and mix the the bits in with the cheese. yum. they don't freeze all that well.
they get all dried out.

turn the veggies in the pan from time to time so they don't stick. you get pork roast, salad and veggies in one operation.

kcat114

O wow, they all sound so good. I can imagine the house smelling so good - our house is filled with bacon-crazed people.

I ended up braising my 7.8 lb hunk of meat with unfiltered apple cider and lots of carrots, onions, and potatoes. I used juniper berries, sage, thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves, cloves, and garlic too. The house smelled so delicious, but it took forever to braise in the oven. It turned out falling off the bone, and I served the meat and gravy over rice - and buttered noodles with the leftovers. It was warm and comforting, perfect cold weather food.

I am still nervous about drying the meat out, but I would try grilling or roasting next time. What a great and flavorful cut of meat to have on hand!

butterflywing

you can always cover the meat with foil partway through the cooking if you're worried about drying it out.

brendadawg

There's a great Paula Deen recipe for a Boston Butt roast that works well. You should be able to google and find it. If not, PM me and I'll find it for you.

crkathleen

My hubby and I usually cook our shoulder in the crock pot. We usually get several meals out of it. We would usually season it with garlic, pepper, onion maybe some tony chachare's seasonings and eat it with potatoes and veg (can make some gravy with juice), then the next night I would shred it and mix it with our own "house" seasons (cajun, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper and a touch of salt) and make tacos, then if hubby wants something different with those leftovers i sometimes make enchildas. I do the same with this a rotisserie chicken except no need for the crock pot step. :lol:
Also the 2nd night on the pork shoulder you can add some bbq sauce and have bbq sandwiches (YUM!)
Also, I save the juice from the crockpot and I can get roast beef ends from my local grocery store deli and I make open faced sandwiches. (heat juice up and add some sliced onion - maybe mushrooms- season to taste and thicken with cornstarch). Add beef to heat through. Serve over sliced bread, rice, mashed potatoes or buttered noodles.
I can get a boston butt and a rotisserie chicken and won't have to buy any meat for the rest of the week. :lol: :wink:

reneebobby

I also cook mine in the crock pot for the first meal, then the next day thicken up the gravy and make pot pies out it.

crkathleen

pot pies sounds really yummy!

blueangel

I cook mine in the crock pot also.